This invention relates generally to containers and more particularly to a container that is constructed in a manner to visually indicate when it has been opened or tampered with.
There have been a variety of tamper proof and tamper evident containers proposed for use in various applications. For example, in the case of foods, medicines and other consumer products, it is often desirable for the packaging to provide easily noted visual evidence when the package has been opened. The tamper evident packages that have been proposed in the past have generally been characterized by complexity that results in high costs and reliability problems. Further, many containers cannot be effectively closed again after they have been initially opened.
Containers with detachable tear strips have been proposed in various forms and typically provide a tear strip that must be removed in order to open the container. Thus, the presence of an intact tear strip indicates an unopened container and the absence or partial tearing of the strip indicates tampering. Although this type of construction has achieved some popularity, the techniques that have been used to construct the tear strips have resulted in high costs. Also, adequately closing and sealing the container once it has been opened has been a problem with this type of container construction.
In accordance with the present invention, a tamper evident container is equipped with a detachable tear strip that must be removed to open the container. The invention is characterized by a container body and a closure having a side wall that fits closely inside of the container body. The closure also includes a flange which is connected with the side wall, preferably by an annular neck. The tear strip is connected with the upper edge of the container body along a line of weakness that facilitates detachment of the tear strip when it is desired to open the container. The flange terminates in a lower edge that is heat sealed to the upper edge of the tear strip.
The container can be opened by tearing away the tear strip along the line of weakness which connects it with the container body. This also results in rupture of the heat seal so that the closure is released from the container body and can be removed to provide access to the contents of the container. The closure can be replaced on the container with the upper part of the container wall closely sandwiched between the flange on the outside and the closure wall on the inside. The neck on the closure seats on the upper edge of the container wall so that the closure has a tight fit on the container to effectively contain the contents.
Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following description.